Gearing up for Summer

Hot weather has settled on NYC the last few weeks and it feels (and smells) like summer in the city. My brother was just in town for a visit and we spent a lot of time outside, which included a Memorial Day cook out on our tiny grill. We had a great time, but now it's back to work.

I didn't have many performances in May. There was the Son of a Gun reading at Joe's Pub, which I mentioned in my last post, and I had the chance to play with Cheryl Lynn, Anita Ward, and Thelma Houston at a private event last week. Other than that, May was spent working on new music. All of that work is going to pay off in June.

Upcoming Shows

This weekend I'll be performing two Brooklyn shows with Little Grey Girlfriend. Saturday we'll play a free show at Freddy's Backroom, and Sunday we'll play at the Post Plastic Project at Littlefield. Stop by either to hear us debut a new song!

Later Sunday night I'll meet up with the City Billies at Boulevard in Bushwick, Brooklyn, as part of the Bushwick Open Studios festival.

I'll be back at Boulevard on Wednesday with my good friend Eric Clay, debuting our new groups we've (possibly temporarily) dubbed The Damn Ready Mix Boys. We'll play bluegrass and old timey Americana music.

On June 23rd I'll be back at the Bitter End, this time with Calley Bliss, debuting some of our new collaborations, covers, and tunes of her debut album, Pigeonholed.

In Other News...

My trio and Little Grey Girlfriend have been hard at work booking a tour for mid July. We'll head to the midwest, then make some stops on the east coast before making our way back to Brooklyn. Once a few more dates are confirmed we'll be releasing the tour schedule.

Speaking of Little Grey Girlfriend, I recently hung out with Erika and Brad and recorded our version of The Smith's "Half a Person". Check out the video here:

When I haven't been performing, there's been a lot of recording going on. The City Billies just finished mixing our new album, which will be available later this summer. Stellar Ego is working on a sophomore album, likely to be released in the fall.

I also recently finished producing and mixing Dave Hahn's hilarious collection of ringtones, which will soon be available on iTunes as an album and in the ringtone store. Check them out at ringtoneaweek.com (some of the sound clips are older versions of the recordings, prior to my involvement).

On the blog-front, I've been (slowly) working on another Woodshed Wednesday post for my website, and stay busy behind the scenes with MusicianWages.com, which continues to grow.

Finally, if you're interested in guitar or mandolin lessons, I have a couple openings in my summer schedule. Visit my guitar and mandolin lessons page for more details.